Rose Street Primary School Nursery Review

Books and familiar routines give Rose Street’s nursery its clearest character. Reading for enjoyment begins in Nursery, while adults explain early-years routines and give children repeated opportunities to practise them. These are practical foundations: enjoying stories and understanding what happens next help children take part in school life.

The nursery belongs to Rose Street Primary School in Sheerness, within the Sheerness West Federation. At the inspection on 1 and 2 July 2025, Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good. That judgement covers early years within the school; it is not a separate nursery rating.

Stories have a purposeful place in the day. Adults select books intended to interest children and encourage enjoyment of reading, with this work beginning in Nursery. The emphasis gives young children a starting point for developing an interest in books, rather than treating reading solely as a later classroom task.

Early learning also connects reading with writing. Staff begin helping children apply what they know about reading to written work in the early years. There is a qualification to keep in mind: in July 2025, the school’s writing teaching still needed further development, and gaps involving spelling and accurate letter formation were not consistently tackled promptly. This was a school-wide concern, rather than a separate nursery judgement. The July 2025 inspection also identified uneven checks on learning in some wider subjects: staff did not consistently establish what pupils remembered. Tackling the resulting misconceptions and knowledge gaps was another school-wide improvement priority.

The federation frames its curriculum around Us, Our Island, The World. Its aim is to help children understand themselves, the Isle of Sheppey and places beyond it. Across the federation, learning is intended to encourage questions, listening, reconsidering ideas and responding to feedback. For parents, this explains the intended direction of learning: growing independence alongside knowledge of the local area and the wider world.

Predictable expectations begin in early years. Adults explain routines and children rehearse them regularly, giving them opportunities to become familiar with the behaviour expected during learning. Repetition matters here: understanding a routine is something children practise.

Speech and language receive support at school level. Each federation school has a Speech and Language Therapist for one day per week throughout the academic year, supplied through Write 2 Talk. This establishes a named service within the school, rather than a promise that every nursery child receives individual therapy.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline. Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as two separate decisions.

Nursery applications go through the individual school office. Children join a waiting list, and families are contacted before places are offered for September or January entry. These are entry points, rather than session options.

For nursery enquiries, contact the Rose Street office on 01795 663012 or email rosestreet.office@swfed.co.uk. The school also holds open days for families considering it.